


Orange to Purple

by HoshisamaValmor (HannibalCatharsis)



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Comfort No Hurt, Cutesy, Established Relationship, F/M, Halloween, Morbid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:53:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27322285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HannibalCatharsis/pseuds/HoshisamaValmor
Summary: Undertaker / Cedric and Claudia decorating a Christmas Tree. Only it's Hallowe'en, so it's a Hallowe'en tree. (Just a morbid cosy fic. Prompt by redrosecrown on tumblr)
Relationships: Claudia Phantomhive/Undertaker
Kudos: 12





	Orange to Purple

**Author's Note:**

  * For [redrosecrown](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=redrosecrown).



"Well. That is a miserably small pine tree."

Cedric hugged the miniscule bush that held very little resemblance to a pine tree at all.

"Such harsh words, Claudia. The poor thing has feelings too."

"Uh-huh." Claudia tried to sound unimpressed, but she was betrayed by the silly image before her: a grown up man dressed in all black hugged to a stem with crooked branches (more like twigs, really), little to no leaves, in the middle of a funeral parlour.

Truthfully, as a noblewoman, Claudia had been raised used to having the most luxurious of Christmas trees every year, decorated with hundreds of colourful and shiny ornaments, an ostentation of social status in and on itself. As for Cedric, well, there was little way he could get anything anywhere that. Regardless of all the wealth and status he might've had in another lifetime, he was now anything but rich, and his funeral parlour was no majestic hallway filled with light and windows. And his Christmasy resources weren't exactly overflowing right now - though, in that aspect, he couldn't really be blamed, as that _was_ kind of the big catch of the whole thing.

"It's October," Claudia pointed out sharply.

"Right you are, my lady," Cedric replied with a grin.

"Why do you want to decorate a Christmas tree in October?"

"I didn't say I wanted to decorate a Christmas tree. It's Hallowe'en! We can have a Hallowe'en tree instead."

Claudia scoffed, her smile wider now.

"All right then. What shall we use to decorate it?"

Cedric grinned widely and lowered the dilapidated pine tree on its tiny vase on the floor, hurrying to gather up the supplies.

Surrounded by tiny handcrafted skull trinckets ( _"For how long have you been planning this?"_ Claudia asked abruptly at seeing them and how carefully they had been painted), several strings of both cheap and expensive pearl necklaces ( _"Some of my clients were glad to present me with these. They looked much more charming in their coffins without them"_ Cedric rambled with a smile), rows of different lengths and patterns of black lace ( _"Same source, I gather?"_ Claudia asked, a satisfied hum to Cedric's nod), and some bird skulls, Claudia and Cedric sat on the floor of the funeral parlour and slowly pieced together their own version of the holiday tree. No one around to judge, no one to criticize, no one to chastise Claudia for her practical hairstyle or for sitting on the floor with her dress scattered and rumpled, no one human to mock and hide from Cedric and no Grim Reaper to forbid him from living.

Rain was falling outside, and the dozens of candles that lit the funeral parlour made turns for a warm crackling fireplace, turning this into their own morbid, delightful version of a calm and cosy afternoon. Under the flickering light, they both stared at the work of art they had put up together. Black lace making turns for ribbons, purple pearls as garlands and skulls hanging from the leafless branches, a puff of spiderwebs here and there, a Phantomhive ornamented brooch pinned to the top.

"It's wonderful," Cedric said in utter delight; well, he didn't actually _see_ it that well without nearly pressing his face against it, but he knew it was beautiful.

"I've never actually decorated a Christmas tree," Claudia admitted, sounding incredibly satisfied.

"I'm sad to say, you still haven't, Claudia."

"Yes, you're right. This was so much more fun, though." Her smile was so clear in her voice Cedric wished he could see it on her face as clearly as he heard and felt it. "Shouldn't it be more orange, though? I find it lacks orange, and yellow."

"Why orange?"

"Well, Hallowe'en. Jack-o'-Latern. That sort of thing. It's the colour streak of the season, no?"

"Hm," Cedric mused on it for a moment. "Welll, if this was a Christmas tree, it would be decorated in reds and golds and greens, but we inverted it into being a Hallowe'en tree, so it ought to be oranges and silvers and browns. We can then invert _that_ and we get the opposite of orange, purple, and so by following that reasoning, we now get a truly and uniquely Hallowe'eny tree of our own, my lady, in all its perfect purply and black and bone-coloured glory."

Claudia tried to look stern again, but she couldn't.

"Only you would find sense in that logic, Cedric."

"I'll take that as a compliment, my lady."

"It was."

"Thank you, Claudia. And I say, only you could find this beauty as delightful as me."

"I will take as a compliment too."

"It was."

.

the end

.

**Author's Note:**

> Nearly 3 years ago, "decorating a christmas tree" was one of the prompts **redrosecrown** gave me on a Kuroween / FaustianExchange event we participated. Took me a while to get to this, and I clearly distorted it.
> 
> Thanks for reading, feedback and corrections to English are encouraged.


End file.
